Connector housing structure

ABSTRACT

A connector housing structure includes a case defining an open end on at least one side thereof and having a plurality of partitioning plates vertically erected therein, and the partitioning plates each having an end facing toward and corresponding to the open end; a plurality of central elastic leaves being provided at the end of the partitioning plates facing toward the open end; and a fastening frame being fitted around the open end of the case and internally provided with a plurality of supporting posts separately corresponding to a free end of the central elastic leaves. With the fastening frame fitted around the open end of the case, the central elastic leaves can be stably held in place, and the case can have increased structural strength and be more easily manufactured at reduced cost.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a connector housing structure, and moreparticularly to a connector housing structure that has increasedstructural strength and can be more easily manufactured at reduced cost.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional connector housing structure, as shown in FIG. 1, includesa case 6, a plurality of intermediate partitioning plates 61 provided inthe case 6, a plurality of elastic leaves 62 provided on a free end ofthe case 6 and of the intermediate partitioning plates 61, and a frame63 fitted around the free end of the case 6. To the connector housingstructure, related connectors and components can be assembled tocomplete an electric connector.

While the elastic leaves 62 provided on the free end of the case 6 canbe engaged with and thereby held in place by a peripheral wall of theframe 63, the frame 63 is a hollow member without any internal supportand stop elements to provide the case 6 with better support. Thus, thecase 6 is easily subject to pressure and the risk of deformation, andthe elastic leaves 62 provided on the free end of the intermediatepartitioning plates 61 must be spot-welded to the partitioning plates,lest the elastic leaves 62 should become separated from the partitioningplates. The spot-welding inevitably requires more time, labor andprocedures to manufacture the connector housing structure and results inincreased manufacturing cost.

It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved connectorhousing structure that has increased structural strength and can be moreeasily manufactured at reduced cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a connectorhousing structure, in which a fastening frame is associated with aconnector case to hold a plurality of central elastic leaves in place inthe case, enabling the case to have increased structural strength and bemore easily manufactured at reduced cost.

To achieve the above and other objects, the connector housing structureaccording to the present invention includes a case defining an open endon at least one side thereof and having a plurality of partitioningplates vertically erected therein, and the partitioning plates eachhaving an end facing toward and corresponding to the open end; aplurality of central elastic leaves being provided at the end of thepartitioning plates facing toward the open end; and a fastening framebeing fitted around the open end of the case and internally providedwith a plurality of supporting posts separately corresponding to a freeend of the central elastic leaves.

With the fastening frame fitted around the open end of the case, thecentral elastic leaves can be stably held in place, and the case canhave increased structural strength and be more easily manufactured atreduced cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional connector housingstructure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a connector housing structureaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an assembled view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the circled area “a” of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3 that are exploded and assembledperspective views, respectively, of a connector housing structureaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown,the connector housing structure includes a case 1, a plurality ofelastic-leaf members 2, a plurality of side elastic leaves 3, aplurality of central elastic leaves 4, and a fastening frame 5.

The case 1 includes a bottom plate 11 and a top cover 12 connected tothe bottom plate 11. The bottom plate 11 is provided at predeterminedpositions with a plurality of locating slits 111, and the top cover 12is provided on a top face thereof with a plurality of opening 121. Thecase 1 defines an open end 13 on at least one side thereof. A pluralityof partitioning plates 14 is vertically erected in the case 1. Thepartitioning plates 14 each are provided at a lower side with aplurality of insertion tabs 141 for correspondingly engaging with thelocating slits 111, and each have an end corresponding to the open end13. The top cover 12 of the case 1 is provided on the top face and twolateral sidewalls at predetermined positions with a plurality of slots15 extending through the top cover 12 in a thickness direction thereof.

The elastic-leaf members 2 are connected to an upper and a lower edge ofthe open end 13 of the case 1.

The side elastic leaves 3 are connected to two lateral edges of the openend 13 of the case 1.

The central elastic leaves 4 are connected to the end of thepartitioning plates 14 corresponding to the open end 13 of the case 1.

The fastening frame 5 is fitted around the open end 13 of the case 1 tohold the elastic-leaf members 2 and the side elastic leaves 3 in place.The fastening frame 5 is internally provided with a plurality ofsupporting posts 51 corresponding to a free end of the central elasticleaves 4, and is provided along an outer periphery thereof with aplurality of retaining hooks 52 for correspondingly engaging with theslots 15 on the top cover 12.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 isan enlarged view of the circled area “a” of FIG. 4. Please refer toFIGS. 4 and 5 along with FIGS. 2 and 3. To assemble the connectorhousing structure of the present invention, first engage the insertiontabs 141 on the lower side of the partitioning plates 14 with thelocating slits 111 on the bottom plate 11. Then, connect the top cover12 to the bottom plate 11 to constitute the case 1, and connect theelastic-leaf members 2 and the side elastic leaves 3 to the upper andlower edges as well as the two lateral edges of the open end 13,respectively, and the central elastic leaves 4 to the end of thepartitioning plates 14 facing toward the open end 13. Finally, engagethe retaining hooks 52 on the fastening frame 5 with the slots 15 on thetop cover 12, so that the fastening frame 5 is fitted around the openend 13 of the case 1 to hold the elastic-leaf members 2 and the sideelastic leaves 3 in place while the supporting posts 51 in the fasteningframe 5 separately correspond to the free end of the central elasticleaves 4. With these arrangements, the central elastic leaves 4 can beheld in the case 1 without the risk of separating from the end of thepartitioning plates 14 while the procedure of spot-welding the centralelastic leaves 4 to the partitioning plates 14 can be omitted tosimplify the manufacturing process and reduce the manufacturing cost ofthe connector housing structure. Meanwhile, with the supporting posts 51provided in the fastening frame 5, the case 1 can have increasedstructural strength without becoming deformed easily. After or duringthe assembling of the connector housing structure, related connectors,heat sinks, and light guiding members (not shown) can be mounted to thecase 1. The connectors are arranged in the case 1 to separately locatebetween two adjacent partitioning plates 14, and the heat sinks and thelight guiding members are arranged on the top face of the top cover 12to connect to the connectors via the openings 121, so that a desiredconnector module is completed.

With the above arrangements, the fastening frame is associated with thecase to not only stably hold the central elastic leaves in place in thecase, but also give the case increased structural strength, simplifiedmanufacturing process and reduced manufacturing cost, enabling productsderived from the present invention to fully meet the market demands.Thus, the connector housing structure according to the present inventionfully satisfies the requirements for novelty, improvement, andindustrial utilization.

The present invention has been described with a preferred embodimentthereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in thedescribed embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scopeand the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only bythe appended claims.

1. A connector housing structure, comprising: a case defining an openend on at least one side thereof, and having a plurality of partitioningplates vertically erected therein; and the partitioning plates eachhaving an end facing toward and corresponding to the open end; aplurality of central elastic leaves being provided at the end of thepartitioning plates facing toward the open end; and a fastening framebeing fitted around the open end of the case, and internally providedwith a plurality of supporting posts separately corresponding to a freeend of the central elastic leaves.
 2. The connector housing structure asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the case includes a bottom plate and a topcover connected to the bottom plate, and the bottom plate being providedat predetermined positions with a plurality of locating slits; thepartitioning plates being provided on a lower side with a plurality ofinsertion tabs separately corresponding to and engaging with thelocating slits on the bottom plate; and the top cover being provided ona top face with a plurality of openings.
 3. The connector housingstructure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the case is provided on a topface and two lateral sidewalls at predetermined positions with aplurality of slots, and the fastening frame is provided along an outerperiphery thereof with a plurality of retaining hooks forcorrespondingly engaging with the slots on the case.
 4. The connectorhousing structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof elastic-leaf members arranged at upper and lower edges of the openend of the case.
 5. The connector housing structure as claimed in claim1, further comprising side elastic leaves arranged at two lateral edgesof the open end of the case.